Lily's Battle
by His Lil' Half-Blood Princess
Summary: Lily Evans will do anything to get what she wants. Severus Snape will do the same thing. Are the goals the same? As the school searches for a cure, a child, & meanwhile, a love is being born. SSLE. Sequel to Lily's Lover. FINAL CHAPTER! UP FOR ADOPTION.
1. The Necklace Reprise

**Lily's Battle**

_Well, well, well, look who it is! My readers! Long time no see! I see you are a bit upset with me, are you not? I delayed a bit too much for you. Well, sorry... perhaps I should not continue with this story then! ...Oh, what's that I see? Smiles? Are you happy with me again? Well... perhaps I should keep going with this..._

_Okay, enough of that! Welcome! This story has been carefully planned out and I am so excited about getting started! I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do!_

_Now, let us recap, shall we? PLEASE, now that we are here, read this chapter carefully. Every little detail counts. And if you are new to this trilogy... GO BACK TO LILY'S PRISONER! You will be extremely confused. But for all of us old-timers, let's continue on..._

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_Severus looked up from his work and sighed. An entire day of grading papers made his eyes tired. He felt old and weary. He had been put under so much stress lately and now things were just getting even worse. And now, knowing what he knew, his conscience felt terribly guilty. He didn't want to, but he had to, because if he was ever discovered, he'd be thrown in Azkaban. And even if he wasn't, it was just plain wrong. This was so hard! Why was his life hell? Why didn't he have a little bit of heaven?_

_"Hi, Severus," Lily said, coming in._

_Hello, Little Bit of Heaven._

_"Hello, Lily," he said, trying to sound cheerful. His eyes wondered over to the calendar on the wall. January 30th. _

_He had tried so hard to be good today. He tried to be polite and to not pitch any fights or squabble with anyone. He had tried so terrible hard to make Lily happy today. _

_Because, well, tomorrow she might be happy. But not with him._

_Lily sat down on the couch. "Today was fun," she said with a tiny sigh. Severus nodded._

_"I'm glad."_

_"How was your day?" she asked. _

_He shrugged. "As good as expected." He cleared his throat and stood up, slowly walking over to her. "Um... I don't think I got the chance to say happy birthday, did I?"_

_She smiled. "No, you didn't, as a matter-of-fact."_

_"Well," he said, sitting down beside her on the couch. "I guess I should say it now. So... happy birthday." He pulled out a package and she gave a tiny gasp._

_"Aww, you got me a present! That's so sweet! Thank you, Severus!" She looked it over. It was small and wrapped in black wrapping paper._

_"Sorry I'm about the depressing wrapping paper," he muttered. "But it was odd enough to buy wrapping paper, let alone some bright color."_

_"It's just the paper," she said with a grin. She undid the ribbon and tore off the paper forcefully, like a kitten. It revealed a small box. She took off the top and gasped. "Oh, Severus!"_

_It was a necklace. A silver chain with a tiny snowflake at the end. "It's so beautiful! Thank you so much!" She hugged him tightly. He was happy that she was happy... but this was awkward._

_"Uh... you're welcome," he said quietly. _

_She released him and put the necklace on. "I love it!"_

_"Great," he said nervously. "Um... Lily, I have to tell you something."_

_"Yeah?" she asked. Her tone was light. Oh, how that would change when he was done talking!_

_How could he do this?_

_"Before I do, let me just say that I didn't know about this until yesterday."_

_Lily's eyes darkened. His tone was heavy and sad. Something was wrong. "Severus, did something bad happen?"_

_"It depends on how you look at it," he said quietly. _

_"It's Harry, isn't it?" Lily whispered. "Severus..."_

_"I didn't know, Lily, I swear I didn't know. I was too busy thinking when it happened! If I had known, I would have told you."_

_"What is it?"_

_"I couldn't live with the guilt of not telling you and since it was too late to tell you yesterday, and you should be the first to know, I had to tell you today. I'm sorry, Lily. I should have realized it before."_

_"Severus, tell me what happened!"_

_He inhaled deeply, and then said,_

_"Lily, your husband is alive."_

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_Ugh, so HARD to write! *wipes forehead* I had to copy and paste AND italicize! How tiring! But anyway, because I am going to be very cruel, I will not post chapter two until February. I just wanted to set the mood and to tell everybody that this story hasn't been abandoned._


	2. Happy Birthday, Lily!

**Chapter 2**

_Now we get into the good stuff!_

_Happy birthday, housefreak13! Happy birthday to you!_

_"All we need in this world is some love." - Adam Lambert_

Lily stared at him.

Severus released his breath when he realized she hadn't killed him. Relief flooded over him for a moment, but when he noticed she was doing anything... he began to grow tense again.

"Lily?" he asked.

She said nothing.

He tried to find some emotion in her. But she was blocking him out of her mind. Her fists weren't clenched. Her mouth gave no clues. And her eyes were emotionless. He tilted his head.

"Lily, what's-?"

_SMACK!_

Severus fell to the floor and doubled over, his hand over the spot where Lily smacked him. He wanted to shout at her, ask her who the hell she thought she was, smacking him like that, but he knew he deserved it. He needed to let her vent out all of that anger and shock and disgust.

"OH MY FLIPPING GOD, SEVERUS SNAPE! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU WOULDN'T TELL ME SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" He sat up, looking at her, scared. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN, HUH? WHY IS HE ALIVE? WHERE IS HE? WHERE ARE YOU HIDING HIM? I SWEAR TO GOD, SEVERUS SNAPE, IF YOU DON'T TELL ME-"

"Lily, let me explain-"

"No! I don't need to here an explanation! I don't care!"

"But if you just listen-"

"Do they know? Tell me Severus, does Dumbledore know? AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDN'T KNOW?"

"They don't, Lily-"

"So this is a DARK secret, HUH? Oh, you're so frickin' busted, I swear to God, you're dead. You'll be in Azkaban so quick!" She ran over to the fireplace and grabbed some Floo Powder. She shouted, "DUMBLEDORE'S OFFICE!" It glowed green and Dumbledore's face appeared in the fire. Again.

Deja vu.

"Mrs. Potter?" he asked, concerned. "What's the matter?"

"I need to speak with you immediately, Dumbledore! And I'm bringing a little friend with me!"

Dumbledore looked at her curiously, then said, "Very well." His head disappeared.

Lily spun around to see Severus standing up again. A bit frightened, she quickly Disarmed him. She walked over to him and shoved him towards the fire. "Go or I'll kill you."

He put his hands up. "I'm not trying to run away. I'm going." He walked over the fire place, hands still in the air. He appeared in Dumbledore's office, Lily right behind him. Dumbledore, who was seated at his desk, tilted his head in curiosity.

"May I ask what's going on here...?"

"Headmaster," Lily spat. "_Snape, _here, has just informed me of something that I think you ought to know. He's just revealed to me that my husband is _alive." _

Dumbledore's eyes widened and looked at the younger man's face. "Is this true, Severus?" he asked, his voice tinted with worry and disappointment, but they were gentle. Severus felt awful.

"Yes, Headmaster, it's true," he muttered, looking down and feeling ashamed.

Dumbledore sighed and tutted. "In that case, I'll be calling some of the Order. You have some explaining to do, Severus, and it will be easier for all of us if we didn't have to go over this repeatedly."

It was like Halloween all over again. People slowly started showing up, knowing that James was alive, but how? Who found out? What was going on?

At the same time, Moody, Hagrid, Sirius, and Remus arrived, pinning Snape to the wall. Moody put his wand to his neck, Hagrid slammed his body to the wall, and Sirius and Remus got in his face, shouting insults, demanding to know where their best friend was. Words like "Death Eater", "Liar", and "Freak" were shouted by the two of them. At one point, Severus couldn't take their shouting anymore.

"Oh, get off me, God dammit!" he snapped, trying to struggle free. The three men started cursing at each other.

"That's enough," Dumbledore said calmly and they fell silent. It was miracle that they heard him since they were so loud. "We haven't even heard Severus's explanation in the matter yet. We cannot go accusing him of something he may have not done. Alastor, take your wand off him. Sirius, Remus, leave him alone, come over here. Hagrid, release him. He's not going anywhere." Reluctantly, Moody put his wand away and Hagrid let him go. They walked away, taking Sirius and Remus with him. They all stared at him.

"Well?" Sirius said. "Go on? James is alive? Where is he? What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything!" Severus said, scared out of his mind. It was like the courtroom at the Ministry of Magic. Everyone watching him, demanding answers. he took a deep breath and began. "I didn't know he was alive until yesterday! I was putting memories in the Pensieve- the one I borrowed from you, Headmaster- and I was watching a meeting I had with the Dark Lord. Where he showed me where the child was. And at the end of the meeting, he asked me if I thought the Order believed in life enclosed in death."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Minerva asked.

"That's what I wanted to know, but since I had forgotten about him saying that, I had never thought about what he meant. So I thought about it and I started going through other memories, memories that had to do with this whole situation."

"What does this have to do with James being alive?" Remus asked.

"I'm getting there! Don't interrupt me! Anyways, I looked through the memory of Halloween and I saw something odd." He paused and then said, "The Dark Lord didn't use the Killing Curse on Potter that night."

Murmurs began around the room, a few gasps were heard, and many people looked shocked and confused. "H-h-how do you know?" Lily managed to stutter.

"The Killing Curse usually gives off a green light. The spell the Dark Lord used that night was purple. And the Killing Curse _must _be spoken. The Dark Lord didn't speak when he cast the spell on your husband. At first glance, I thought it was a new Killing Curse that the Dark Lord had invented. But then I thought about life enclosed in death. I couldn't make guesses. I decided to see for myself. I went to the graveyard and looked at the body myself. And he's not dead. You're limp when you're dead. He's stiff."

"He is!" Lily said. "I noticed that on Halloween, but I didn't really think anything of it. His hand wouldn't budge. Oh, we're so stupid! He's been alive this whole time! He's petrified!"

"Petrified?" Molly Weasley shrieked.

"Alastor, Hagrid, go get the body and bring it to the Hospital Wing," Dumbledore commanded. "Arthur, Kingsley, Remus, and Sirius, go alert the Ministry. Minerva, Molly, go help Poppy in the Hospital Wing." People nodded and silently went their ways. Dumbledore put a hand on Severus's shoulder. "I'm glad you came through," he whispered quietly, so Lily couldn't hear. "I know it must have been difficult for you because of your affections for her and your hatred for him. But I must ask, why didn't you tell me during our meeting last night?"

"I... I felt like she deserved to know first," he said.

Dumbledore smiled. "It matters not. You did good, investigating on whether or not he was alive and on telling us. You could have kept it to yourself."

"I wouldn't have been able to live with the guilt."

"And that's what makes you different from the Death Eaters, my dear boy. You have a conscience. And a good heart, I might add." He smiled again, then said loudly, "Lily, they may be arriving with the body soon. We ought to go down to the Hospital Wing." Lily nodded and started for the door. Dumbledore looked back at Severus before he left. "Are you coming or...?"

"I'm going to go lie down," Severus said, walking towards the door with the Headmaster.

"Very well," Dumbledore said. They walked down the stairs together, then went their separate ways.

**XxXxX**

Lily took her husband's hard hand into her own and looked at him, tears flowing down her face. After the shock had worn down a bit, people started going their separate ways. There was no point in talking to a petrified person. Besides, Lily needed some time to be alone with her husband, even if he couldn't respond. She started to whimper and sniffle as the tears strolled down.

"Oh James," she whispered. "James, it's been so hard. Ever since Halloween. Oh Merlin, I... I need you back. Please come back." She wiped a tear off of her face. "Harry's gone, James, I just know I'll never see him again. He must be getting so big. He's one and a half. Oh James, I need you back. I don't have anyone..." She trailed off and thought about what she had just said.

_I don't have anyone..._

That was a lie and she knew it.

She had so many people who had her back. So many people supporting her. So many people to help her through this.

Sirius, Remus, Albus, Minerva...

Severus...

She suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Oh, she had most definitely overreacted back there. She doubted he'd forgive her, if she said sorry. But she would try anyway. After all, she WAS sorry and she needed to tell him. She accused him of being a traitor. That was just awful when she knew he would do anything for her. She thought back to Halloween, when he stood in front of her. He was willing to die for her.

And she just... oh God, she was stupid!

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

She heard a cough from behind her and turned around to see Severus himself, standing in the doorway. She quickly wiped away her tears, trying to hide her emotions.

"You don't have to hide that you're upset. I already know," he said.

She gave a small laugh, rubbed her eyes, looking up at him. "I can't believe I have him back..."

He nodded. "You must be overwhelmed."

"Yeah. But I'm glad he's alive. I need him here with me."

Something flickered in Severus's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"Hm." was all he could say.

Lily looked down at the floor, then said, "Sev, I'm really sorry for freaking out on you before. I didn't mean what I said at all. I was just... scared. I've never liked change and now it's hitting me in the face rapidly. I just... I'm sorry."

He gave a tiny smile. "It's all right. I understand."

"You do?" she said, shocked.

"Of course. And I'm sorry for ruining your birthday."

She laughed. "Two things. One, you didn't ruin my birthday. You brought back my husband. And two, I ruined yours so, even if you had wrecked mine, we would've been even."

He smiled again. They looked at each other for the longest time. Then Severus broke the silence.

"I'll leave you be. I have much work to do anyway."

"All right. Oh, and by the way, Dumbledore wanted me to tell you that we have an Order meeting tomorrow night and if you have any information or guesses about why... this-" She gestured to her husband. "-happened and anything we need to know or can do about it, to bring it."

"I will. I shall see you tomorrow then."

"Right," she said, nodding.

He was about to leave, when he turned back to look at her. "Happy Birthday, Lily."

**XxXxX**

_Awww! Next chapter, the Order meeting. We get some interesting news!_


	3. The Countercurse

**Chapter Three**

_Time for another Order meeting! Oh yeah! But this one's going to be a little bit different... _

_"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." - 2 Corinthians 4:8-9_

**XxXxX**

"SHIT!" Sirius yelled and the pile of books toppled over. Remus groaned.

"Sirius, this seriously isn't the time to be a klutz."

Sirius snorted as he cleaned up the mess he made. "Siriusly..."

"Sirius!"

"Okay, sorry Moony. Jesus."

Minerva walked in with another pile of books. "I feel rather guilty, having to stun everyone in the school and go through their personal collections to find information, then obliviating them." She slammed the pile down on the floor.

"We've got no other choice," Moody said, slamming another book down. "Found nothing in here."

Charity walked into the room. "Dumbledore's going through Sinistra's stuff and he says that if we don't find anything in books about petrification, we should look in other books."

"Why?" said Lily, who was intently reading _Types of Petrification. _

"Well, what if one of the teachers or students is in cahoots with Voldemort, hm? They could write the countercurse on the margins of any book. Just like-"

"Severus." Lily finished.

"Right," Charity said. She picked up a book and started reading. She was so glad to have finally become an official member of the Order. As she expected, it wasn't easy work and she had to be very focused, but there were a few laughs. And she got to spend time with these amazing people. She couldn't have been happier.

Still, her eyes hurt from reading so much.

Dumbledore walked into the library and sighed. "Well, every book on petrification in this school is in this room. We just have to read through them all."

"Where's Snape?" Lupin asked.

"Martin's office. I believe he'd rather read alone. He has a few books in there and he'll be coming around when he needs more."

"I doubt he just wants to 'read alone'," Lily snorted. "Probably sabotaging Martin's office more like."

"Serves him right, the arrogant arse he is," Charity said.

"Watch the language!" Molly snapped.

"Come now, Molly, we're all responsible adults now. We can say what we like." Sirius said happily.

"You consider yourself a RESPONSIBLE adult?" Minerva said with a shriek.

Sirius rolled his eyes at her.

There was a sound of running from the hallway and people started looking. And in a few seconds' time, Severus Snape stood in the the doorway, panting and holding a book opened. "I found something!"

Lily stood up. "The countercurse!"

"No," he said. "But if we're going to find the countercurse, we ought to know the curse itself first!" He looked at the book and people gathered around him. "It's called _Magnificus Freezenthia Oxycaprius _and it is the only petrification spell in existence. It took over three centuries to perfect. So, unless the Dark Lord was able to create another petrification spell- and if I know him, it would be 10x more powerful- in less than 70 years, he used this spell."

"So, what's the countercurse?" asked Remus.

"The countercurse is unknown. However, it can be cured by the same mandrake potion used for any other petrification."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lily said with a yelp. "Go down to your dungeons and make the potion."

Severus gave her the "you're an idiot" look and said, "The mandrakes have not yet fully matured. When they are, of course I will make the potion. But I cannot possibly make it now."

"When will they have matured, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"Ask Sprout, I wouldn't know," he said with a shrug. In a matter of seconds, he was being dragged down the corridors by Charity and Lily. "Where are we going?" he asked, trying to not lose his balance.

"Greenhouse #2. It's where I left Sprout when I stunned her," Lily said. "We'll have to wake her up, ask her, obliviate her and knock her out again."

They ran out into the snow and Snape couldn't help looking over Lily hungrily. Her red hair was whipping everywhere and her eyes were sparkling and she was smiling and...

Damn, she looked sexy...

But now was not the time to let his hormones get in the way. They reached the greenhouse and he saw Sprout on the floor. He waved his wand over her and she woke up, looking around confused. She then noticed the three young people in front of her. "Severus! What's going on here?" she asked, purely shocked.

"You collapsed, Professor," he said, helping her up. "Good thing we were coming by to ask you something."

She rubbed her head and then asked, "What is it then?"

"When will the mandrakes be matured, Professor?" asked Lily.

She raised an eyebrow. "...Does this have to do with your husband in the Hospital Wing?" Charity and Lily nodded. All the staff members knew about James's petrification. But they couldn't be wandering around while they were doing research and work. "Well, they will be ready by June."

Lily and Charity shrieked and beamed. "Thank you so much, professor!" Charity said.

Severus stared at Sprout, anger, pain, and even a little bit of fright. He pointed his wand at her. _"Stupify!"_

Sprout fell to the ground. Lily turned on Severus. "What the hell was that! She just helped us! This is amazing news!"

Severus shook his head. "No, it's not."

"Why?"

He shook his head. "We can talk about it when we get back to the library. Come." They left the greenhouse and walked through the flurry white world outside. Lily felt a bit scared. What was wrong? What had Sprout said? _Maybe it's because he's upset that James will be alive and well again, _she thought. Thinking of James made her suddenly think of Harry and tears threatened to fall. She blinked the tears back. She was stronger than that.

When they reached the library, Dumbledore stood up. "Well?"

"Sprout said they'll be ready by June," Charity said.

"That's wonderful!" Molly said.

"Can you believe we'll get James back?" asked Sirius.

"This is amazing!" said Remus.

"It's not wonderful at all," Severus said briskly.

Everyone looked at him.

"Look, Snape, we know you hate James and are sickly jealous of him, but-"

"Black, shut your mouth. I will never be jealous of James Potter. He has nothing I am jealous of. And you shouldn't be celebrating yet. This isn't good news."

"WHY?" Lily burst. "James is coming back!"

"No, he's not," Severus said quietly.

The room went deathly quiet. Finally, Lily managed to whisper, "What do you mean?"

He sighed. "The reason, I figure, that the Dark Lord used this spell is because it is potentially fatal. He set this up. Pretend to kill Potter, steal the child, let you live. Then, soon after you discover Potter is alive... he dies."

"What are you talking about, Severus?" Minerva said.

"If someone is put under _Magnificus Freezenthia Oxycaprius _and is not relieved of the curse for over six months, they will die."

Lily tripped over a book and fell right into Severus's arms. He helped her up and looked her in the eyes. She was paler than a ghost, her eyes filled with despair.

"W-w-what? You mean-"

"If we don't have the potion by May 2nd at midnight, Potter will die."

**XxXxX**

_God James, decide if you're gonna be dead or alive already! Honestly!_


	4. UP FOR ADOPTION

This story is up for adoption.

If you'd like it, PM me and I'll send everything you need to you.

Thanks


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